1. Every 4 seconds
   Every 40 seconds
2. Every 40 minutes
   Every 4 hours

While a car stolen every 40 seconds might seem like an extremely high frequency of theft, it is actually lower than previous years. Thefts actually decreased by 17 percent between 2008 and 2009.

1. 25
   250
2. 2,500
   25,000

About 250 cars per 100,000 were stolen in 2009, adding up to a total of just under 800,000 total cars.

1. The 1930s
   The 1950s
2. The 1970s
   The 2000s

Professional car theft rings began to develop in the 1960s and 1970s, leading up to a huge increase in thefts in the late 1970s. This increased theft, fueled by professional chop shops, led to a Congressional investigation and Federal anti-theft legislation.

1. TRUE
2. FALSE

False. Car theft rates actually dropped at the end of the 2000s, despite the poor economy.

1. They are dismantled in illegal chop shops.
   They are returned to their owners.
2. They are never recovered by police.
   They are sold in foreign countries.

Only 12.4 percent of stolen car cases are solved in the United States each year, leaving most stolen cars unrecovered by police. The same percentage applies for Canadian car thefts, as well. While many of those may end up in chop shops, there is no way to be sure.

1. TRUE
2. FALSE

Some chop shops are run independently, but most of them are part of large networks of thieves, multiple chop shops and salvage yards that sell stolen parts.

1. TRUE
2. FALSE

In addition to selling on the black market, chop shops often sell their parts through legitimate dealerships or salvage yards. They also frequently operate behind fronts, repairing cars by day, and stealing and dismantling them by night.

1. The process of repainting a stolen car so that it is more difficult to trace.
   The process of burning the personal items found in a stolen car.
2. The process of making a stolen car appear legitimate by switching its vehicle identification number.
   The process of replacing the interior of a car so it will look different to its rightful owner.

Re-Vinning is a way to disguise a stolen car by replacing its vehicle identification number with the VIN of another car. A re-Vinned car is extremely difficult to prove as stolen when its VIN has been replaced.

1. In newspaper classified ads
   In another state
2. Overseas
   Online

There is a burgeoning overseas market for stolen cars, because law enforcement has difficulty tracking down cars in foreign countries, and thanks to the demand for cheap vehicles in the developing world.

1. To obtain legitimate vehicle identification numbers
   To obtain damaged cars to train workers how to dismantle cars.
2. To convince law enforcement that they are legitimate salvage operations
   To use the parts in other cars they are selling.

The vehicle identification numbers of wrecked cars can be used to re-Vin cars that have been stolen. Since totaled cars are so cheap at auction, the expense is minimal.

1. Africa
   The Middle East
2. Neither
   Both

Both Africa and the Middle East have become huge markets for illegally exported, stolen cars. Political instability in many countries in those regions makes it relatively easy to sell illegal cars without penalty.

1. TRUE
2. FALSE

False. While VIN numbers must be included on the engines and transmissions of late model cars, chop shops can easily dispose of the parts that contain VIN numbers and sell the rest.

1. By selling the entire car intact.
   By selling the car as parts.
2. By selling the car at a salvage auction.
   By selling the car online to a foreign buyer.

Especially for older cars whose parts are more difficult to find, selling cars piecemeal is much more profitable than selling them intact. The market price for an entire car worth of parts is much higher than the price of the car used.

1. The doors
   The windshield
2. The "cowl"
   The hood

The doors and seats are extremely easy to remove, and worth a lot of money when sold. Some cars have only four bolts attaching those components to the rest of the car.

1. The general public
   Insurance companies
2. Car dealerships
   Used-car auctions

Many chop shops operate as fronts, disguised as legitimate body shops and sell their parts to the general public. They also sell their parts to unsuspecting or unethical salvage yards who sell to the public.

1. Acetylene torch
   Bolt cutters
2. Power drills
   Screw driver

Acetylene cutting torches are used to cut through the body and frame of the car in order to split it up into components that can be easily sold or moved.

1. The doors
   The hood
2. The frame
   The airbag

The VIN number is found on the frame, making it easy for law enforcement to identify it as stolen. Frames are typically sold for scrap metal at a pittance.

1. A quick move from one location to another when a chop shop draws heat from the police.
   A way to sell a stolen car as a whole, instead of in pieces.
2. The process of stripping a car of its parts while it remains parked on the street.
   The process of switching the interior parts -- the seats, dash, etc. -- of one with the interior parts of another.

Similar to re-Vinning, a body switch is a way to sell a stolen car so that it cannot be identified as stolen. Parts from a stolen car are grafted to the frame of a salvaged car, so that the VIN numbers belong to the salvaged car instead of the stolen car.

1. TRUE
2. FALSE

Tractor trailer parts are actually much harder to trace than automobile parts, and they fetch higher prices. So, they frequently end up in chop shops when they are stolen.

1. construction equipment
   boats
2. ATVs
   All of the above

While they may be more difficult to navigate back to the shop, vehicles like construction equipment, ATVs and boats end up in chop shops alongside cars. Unconventional vehicles are often harder to trace, since the same federal regulations for registration and VINs don't usually apply.